Spellcaster

Remember all the old Roger Corman flicks, where he had some money, props, locations and actors left over from a recently wrapped movie, and he or someone working with him dashed off a quick script to take advantage of the opportunity? Well, SPELLCASTER plays just like one of those...except that producer Charles Band forgot one important ingredient...a storyline that would actually make it entertaining and watchable! You would think that by having a script co-written by Ed Naha (DOLLS) and Dennis Paoli (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND), it would've turned out better than it actually did, and maybe the script WAS good. But what's on the page doesn't necessarily make it to the screen, and boy, does it really show here. This was one of those few Empire Pictures movies I didn't catch up to back in the Eighties, and now I can see why. Subconsciously, I must've known it was better to stay away.

Former NYPD BLUE cast member Gail O'Grady was getting her start here, as one of a group of "lucky winners" of a contest sponsored by a rock music channel (think a really low-budget MTV). The prize is getting flown to an ancient castle in Italy, (actually Empire's chief location back then, where many of the films were made), to meet top pop star Cassandra Castle (DOLLS' Bunty Bailey), and participate in a scavenger hunt for a check worth $1 million. The castle, of course, belongs to the mysterious and elusive "Signor Diablo" (Adam Ant), which automatically should tell you that Really Bad Things are about to happen.

Yep. Bad acting, bad direction and ridiculously bad editing. O'Grady and Bailey are probably the two most watchable performers in this whole mess. I'd make it three including Adam Ant, but he doesn't even show up till near the end of the third reel.

The most interesting and fun things about SPELLCASTER are the title and the opening sequence, when Bailey does a music video as Castle that's every bit as engagingly cheesy as the vids you used to see on MTV back in its infancy. After that, folks, it's all downhill from there, as you watch the usual horror stereotypes, (tarty French girl, slutty American floozy, sleazy Italian gigolo punk, fat, greasy, junk-food-eating loser, etc.) fall victim to the best special effects work that John Carl Buechler's MMI could come up with on a non-existent budget.

Fans of Empire's Eighties catalog may actually have fond memories of this movie. Personally, I do have the same sentiments about some of their flicks...but this definitely wasn't one of them.

Several youths partake in a Rock TV-sponsored competition at a castle north of Rome to win $1 million, but the lord of the castle has diabolic plans (Adam Ant).

"Spellcaster" (1988) is castle-oriented horror in the tradition of "The Devil's Nightmare" (1971), but mixed with the 80's vibe of "Doom Asylum" (1987) and the cartoonish effects of "Necromancer" (1988). It's cut from the same cloth as soon-to-come flicks "Howling V: The Rebirth" (1989) and "Subspecies" (1991), but it's the least of all of these.

Although the 80's ambiance is good and there's some fun spookiness à la Scooby-Doo (minus the dog), the story's just not very compelling or scary and the characters are rather dull. Meanwhile Adam Ant doesn't appear until the very end (not that I care, but those interested would want to know).

Traci Lind (Yvette) and Kim Johnston Ulrich (Teri) stand out on the female front. Also on hand are Gail O'Grady as the winsome protagonist and Bunty Bailey as the drunken rock star. The other two blondes are basically interchangeable and negligible. Speaking of which, all the women are curiously blondes. How about a brunette or redhead to spice things up?

The movie runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot a dozen miles northeast of Rome at Odescalchi Castle on Lake Bracciano.

GRADE: C+

Spellcaster - 1988 (released in 1992) (This Film Rates a B- ) Adam Ant as Diablo! Total late 1980's early 1990's feel from the music to the artsy fartsy production. Brother and sister Tom and Jackie (Lost orphans) win a radio contest where they are to participate in a treasure hunt in Italy. There are several other annoying rich eccentric narcissistic characters who have also won the contest. The ultimate prize is one million dollars and the first to find the check in the castle wins. After a shady deal the contest is rigged. One by one each contestant is killed off as the house comes alive through black magic and selling of souls. You won't care who gets killed off because they all deserve it and everyone gets a second chance in the end. Everything about this film is overdone. Its total cheese and filled with cheap MTV effects. Laughable throughout whether intentional or not. No T&A. Plus watching a true desperate alcoholic licking alcohol off the floor is fun. Its not great but it sure is fun.

A very bad 80's B-horror movie with awful acting bad effects and some amateur. Adam Ant headlines the movie, yet is in it for 5 minutes camera work. Gave it an extra star for the Death by chair scene, which was a new one for me. Avoid unless you are really bored.

there are a lot of opportunities for female nudity wasted in this one. It would have scored much higher if they had taken the opportunities available. The storyline, while somewhat implausible, was not beyond suspension of disbelief. The blond girl who has constant trouble with her shower, keeps bringing guys up to fix it and never put out made me almost as frustrated as the guys "fixing" the shower. Realistically, if the film maker wanted people to actually watch this drivel they would have included the nudity that the film could have presented. The multiple shower/bath scenes where the girls were titillating the male characters would have played much better if they titillated the viewer as well.